The High Court has refused to grant anticipatory bail to Sikder Group Managing Director Ron Haque Sikder and his brother Dipu Haque Sikder in a case filed for threatening to shoot and torture two top officials of Exim Bank for a loan.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Ashraful Kamal issued the order on Monday after a virtual hearing of the bail petition filed by the two accused in the case.
The bench also required the accused to provide 10,000 personal protective equipment (PPEs) as a fine to the Prime Minister's Relief and Welfare Fund within two weeks since they submitted bail petitions beyond legal statutes, thus wasting the court's valuable time.
Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Bashir Ahmed confirmed the matter to Dhaka Tribune.
Senior Advocate Ajamalul Hossain QC, Syed Ahmed, and Muhammad Saifullah Mamun, lawyers of the accused, were present at the hearing.
On July 2, Sikder group chief Ron Haque Sikder and his brother who are now in Thailand, filed the application online seeking anticipatory bail from the High Court’s virtual bench.
The bail petition was the first item on Monday’s daily case list for the bench of Justice Md Ashraful Kamal.
DAG Bashir said the virtual court which started on May 11, has no such example of granting anticipatory bail in its history, and the Supreme Court also has no practice direction on the matter for the High Court bench to follow.
According to the law, no one can seek any remedy, including anticipatory bail, from the court from abroad, he added.
On May 7, Ron and Dipu Haque Sikder allegedly tortured and attempted to murder Exim Bank Managing Director (MD) Md Haider Ali Mia and Additional MD Md Firoz Hossain. They shot at them at Sikder House in Dhaka's Banani neighbourhood when the bankers refused to overvalue mortgaged property of the Sikders for a Tk500 crore loan.
A case was filed in this connection with Gulshan police station on May 19.
National Bank Limited, a concern of the Sikder Group, refuted the allegations through their lawyer Abdul Baset Majumder, saying the case was filed to socially defame them.
The brothers took a private air ambulance of R&R Aviation, another Sikder Group concern, and left the country on the morning of May 25. However, the news came to light much later on May 29.